"HEY, Tess," I heard Carol call out to me, so I looked up at her. "I know you want to get back to Alexandria for your girls, but I was just wondering if you wanted to help me take my people back to the Kingdom. Sanctuary's got to figure out who they want to be. Then again, Rick might have other plans for you."

I was really surprised Carol offered the job to me. Still, I was probably someone she could trust – which is saying a lot. I smirked and went to say, "Yeah, that sounds—"

"Nah, I got something that she could do," a very familiar voice said from behind me. The grunt of a voice belonged to, none other than Daryl Dixon, himself. "Come on."

With that said, I touched Carol's arm before departing with Daryl. I didn't understand why he needed my assistance, but I was more than eager to follow since I've been wanting to talk to him alone for some time now.

"Maybe now's the time that we finally talk, Daryl," I claimed, following behind him. "The way that you've been treating me isn't fair."

He didn't speak but kept walking to where we were now on the outskirts of Oceanside and alone. He sat down on a trunk of where a tree was, now peering up at me and nodding. I suppose this is the part where he wanted me to speak now.

"Okay," I breathed out, suddenly not knowing what to say. "Well... Look, I've tried really hard to forgive and forget what you did. You made Dwight leave, and if he ever chose to come back, he would be killed on sight. How is that even fair?"

"He killed Denise—!"

"And we have killed a lot of people, too," I squeaked back, interrupting him. "Maybe they deserved it. Maybe they didn't. Either way, nobody is perfect anymore. How is it right for Negan to stay in a cage and for Dwight to leave?"

Suddenly, Daryl jumped up to his feet and got right in my face. "At least, your old boyfriend got the chance to leave and be free! That other asshole is in a cage and will stay there the rest of his pathetic life!"

I shoved him back and yelled, "No, because of you, I will always be alone, and Tara Rose will never know who her real father is!" Again, I shoved him hard and stumbled backward. "We'll always have Negan around, but not Dwight, and that isn't right."

With that said, he turned his back on me and suddenly mumbled out, "And that's why Maggie's done talking. She's headed to Alexandria right now to take him out."

"What?"

"It's over for him," he simply and calmly replied, shaking his head and his cold blue eyes meeting mine. "Negan's done. Hope you got to say your goodbyes."

I held my breath and looked at him in disgust. "Rick won't ever forgive you if you let Maggie go through with this!"

He faced me and barked back, "Yeah? Who's gonna tell him? You?"

I gulped down the fear and confusion, biting my bottom lip from what I really wanted to say. I was almost too afraid to speak up to Daryl; but, suddenly, I thought that I had nothing left to lose.

I stepped up and stated, "I get it, Daryl. I get why you feel so guilty. You got up and punched Negan; and, then, Glenn was killed. I get it. Do you think I don't share that same guilt with you? I mean, I was right there beside him before I was moved. I could've saved him! I could've, but I was too weak and broken. Negan liked that. He picked up on my scent immediately."

He was suddenly right in my face and grunted out, "You think that you know it all. Don't you, Tess? Nah, you don't know shit!"

"I know that you haven't been the same since Negan killed Abraham and Glenn right in front of us," I hissed, not breaking eye contact with him now. "I know that you haven't been the same since he threw us in the back of that truck, keeping us there like rapid animals. I know you haven't been the same since he made us prisoners. I lost someone back there, too. Not just you and not just Maggie, either."

He growled under his breath, as I believed that he wouldn't say anything. Then, he silently growled out, "Yeah, we all know how you felt about him." It was no secret my feelings inside for Glenn, but I never expected Daryl to throw it back in my face with such a bitter taste.

Suddenly, I heard someone coming up behind us, and it sounded like Rick. He was talking into the walkie-talkie to Maggie, saying that they needed to talk. He knew.

"Hey," Daryl called out to him, cutting me out now. "What's goin' on?"

I could not believe how Daryl was acting like he didn't know what was going on. He and Maggie are ruining everything. This isn't what Carl wanted, dammit.

"Maggie's headed to Alexandria," Rick replied, his back briefly turned to tend to his horse. "She's about to do something she might regret."

There was silence as Daryl glared at me, wondering whether or not I would tell on him or not – like we were two children who just had a fight on the playground. I kept quiet, deciding to keep my mouth shut about what I knew.

With that reassurance, Daryl now walked past me and said to Rick, "Hop on. I'll take you."

Rick glanced over his shoulder at Daryl and asked, "You sure? We got enough fuel?"

I felt so bad as Daryl came up, slapped him on the back for reassurance, and started to get his bike to work. "Yeah. We'll get there quicker."

All sorts of regret started to hit me as Daryl got his bike on, and Rick went to hop on behind him to ride down to Alexandria. I had to say something. "Um... Rick! Wait! Let me go with y'all!"

This way, nobody would get hurt. However, Rick shook his head and touched my shoulder. "No, you stay here and help with what you can. Be back later. There's nothing to worry 'bout, Tess."

I held my breath as Rick took his hand back, and Daryl flew off on the bike with Rick in tow. I gulped down a huge knot of something as I could hear Rick's words run through my head on repeat: Be back later. There's nothing to worry 'bout, Tess.

I walked back into camp and called out for Carol. "Carol? Hey, where are you at?"

She walked out of a tent and looked straight at me. "What's going on, Tess?"

Nearly out of breath, I tried to explain, "It's... It's Maggie. She went to Alexandria to kill Negan, and Rick found out, and he went after her. And, Daryl offered to take him. So, they went off and... This isn't the plan, Carol. We can't be separating like this. It isn't safe."

"I-I understand, Tess," she mumbled out, grabbing my arm and trying her best to soothe me. "It's alright. It's all gonna be okay."

"Oh, yeah? When—?"

"Watch out," she whispered and, with that, we both spun around just in time to see a few Saviors –being led by Jed, himself – trying to sneak-up on us while Jerry was packing up all the guns. "Where'd you get the gun, Jed?"

Carol and I, along with the others, pulled out our own guns to face off with them. Jed seemed to be the only one carrying while the others had knives and such.

"Alden wasn't as quick as you," Jed growled, taking a brave step forward with his handheld gun raised. "Surprised me, too."

I didn't know what Carol was going to do, but I was going to back her up since she's leading us here. "How about we all lower our weapons?" she now called out, temptingly. "Nobody gets hurt today."

"That's right," Jed chirped out sarcastically. "Listen to the woman. Drop your guns. Party's over."

I was getting sick and tired of his games, so I just came out with it and asked, "What is it that you want here, Jed? Stop fucking around and just tell us."

"See, uh, I took the scenic route, but I figured it out," he started to explain, still taking some brave steps forward with his gun raised, pointing straight for mine and Carol's heads. "Oceanside's killing us." This was news to me, but not shocking in the least. "So now, being that it's war, they're gonna get what's comin' to 'em."

"Like hell," I spat out, his eyes darted at me. "Back down, you heathens."

"Stop it, Jed," Carol whispered as a warning. "You're gonna get everybody killed."

Jed was practically to mine and Carol's chests, and not backing down whatsoever. "Excuse me, Carol. You ain't bosslady no more," he threatened, which made me want to snap his neck. "You're a weak little woman who got in a lucky shot. And, now, listen to what I say. Now, step aside."

With that said, I watched what Carol did next carefully. However, when she put her gun down and backed off, I stood there with my mouth ajar. "Carol?" I whispered, still holding my gun up. "What the hell?"

Jed stepped forward again and took Carol's keys right off of her belt-loop. What the actual fuck? When he passed by me and was nearly behind me, Carol suddenly hit the back of his leg and face, and he grumbled when falling down.

Suddenly, more Saviors came out of the woodwork and, before I knew it, all I heard next was Carol scream out, "No!"

Suddenly, everyone started to open fire as I dove out of the way. I crawled behind a tree and tried to stay out of the action, but only shot out when I needed to. I tried to keep myself and all the others safe from those rapid Saviors. I wanted to kill Jed now.

I spotted him off in the distance, trying to get his gun to work while behind another tree. It's time, I said to myself as I ran out and fled through the action to get to Jed. I took him down, spearing him to the ground, and started throwing punches. I hit him everywhere that I could, even elbowing him, too.

"You sick asshole!" I spat out at him, now elbowing him in the stomach. "You always gotta cause drama!"

Suddenly, he yanked my hair, and I lost all feeling before he turned the tables on me, now holding me down on the ground instead. He hovered over me and breathed out, "Oh, I've been waiting a long time for this, baby."

Just as he was about to take my gun and end my life as a whole, I placed all he strength into my legs and basically kicked him off of me. He fell back, and I jumped to my feet before running over, taking his arm and cracking it. He screamed out as I scrambled to regain my gun from the ground. Jed must have been scared when he suddenly picked up his broken body and ran off. And, I couldn't kill him.